With less than seven weeks remaining until the August Primary Election, five candidates have officially qualified for the Manatee County Commission District 6 at-large race. Voters will have the opportunity to choose a new county-wide commissioner this election cycle.
Unlike the District 2 and District 4 contests, the District 6 race does not feature an incumbent. Current Commissioner Jason Bearden announced earlier this year that he would not seek a second term, leaving the seat open for a competitive five-candidate field.
The Manatee County Board of Commissioners is comprised of seven district seats. Two of those are at-large seats. Unlike single-district commissioners, the two at-large commissioners are elected by voters countywide and represent the entire county rather than a specific geographic district.
Republicans Tara Poulton, John Calovich, Ed Ference, and Tony Barrett will compete in the Aug. 18 Republican primary. The winner will advance to the November General Election to face Democratic candidate and former Commissioner Reggie Bellamy.
Campaign finance reports filed to date show Poulton leading the District 6 field in fundraising with approximately $44,000 reported as of the latest filing period. Poulton also ranks among the county's top fundraisers among all commission races this election cycle, trailing only District 4 incumbent Mike Rahn and District 2 incumbent Amanda Ballard.
Calovich has reported roughly $39,000 in his campaign funds, followed by Ference with approximately $30,000. Barrett has reported about $12,000 in campaign funds, while Bellamy, the lone Democrat in the race, has reported raising approximately $9,200.
Republican Candidate Tara Poulton
Tara Poulton currently serves as District Director and Chief of Staff for Congressman Vern Buchanan, overseeing constituent services and district operations across Manatee County and southern Hillsborough County. Before joining Buchanan's office in 2023, Poulton spent more than a decade in public service and government affairs, including positions with the Manatee County Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, DeSoto County Government, and the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, where she served as vice president.
Her campaign website emphasizes a platform focused on fiscal responsibility, government accountability, and responsible growth. Poulton, a resident of Lakewood Ranch, holds a master's degree in public administration from Florida State University and a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of South Florida.
As of the latest reporting period, Poulton has reported approximately $44,000 in campaign contributions, making her the leading fundraiser in the District 6 race and one of the top three county commission fundraisers overall.
Poulton's fundraising appears to be largely supported by community networks the candidate has developed over her decade in public service, rather than by self-loans, as seen with some candidates. Her campaign has received contributions from a mix of businesses, attorneys, government affairs professionals, current elected officials, and one political committee.
Among Poulton's largest contributors are eight business entities sharing the same Sarasota address, each contributing the maximum $1,000: Country Club Shores LLC, Auto Central Services Inc., Speed-wing Investment Company, 1099 Management Company LLC, MB Acquisitions & Leasing LLC, Aircraft One LLC, Aircraft Two LLC, Orange Park LLC, VB Investments LLC, and VB Pointe West Investments LLC. According to federal congressional financial disclosures, the entities are associated with businesses owned by U.S. Representative Vern Buchanan and members of his immediate family.
Poulton also received financial support from several members of the legal community, including maximum contributions from the Grimes Galvano firm and Esposito Law Group. Several individual attorneys, including Jennifer Hamey and Mark Barnebey, made $100-$500 contributions.
Current county commissioners George Kruse and Tal Siddique also contributed to Poulton's campaign, along with former Deputy County Administrator Courtney De Pol and current Director of Manatee County Department of Government Relations Stephanie Garrison. Former Manatee Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett also contributed.
Poulton also received maximum contributions from local businesses and/or business leaders, including from OnPlace LLC, Matt Buchanan, hotelier Michael Holderness, farmer Jon Esformes, and logistics executive Charles Vining.
Engineer and President of CIP Solutions Mark Stout also contributed $1,000 to the Poulton campaign, as well as to the Ballard campaign.
The campaign's lone political committee contribution came from Knowledge Is Power. The PAC also contributed to the campaigns of D2 incumbent Commissioner Amanda Ballard and school board candidate Jonathan Mullis during this cycle.
Poulton's campaign finance reports reflect her resume in government/public relations, with numerous contributors identifying their occupations as governmental consultant, governmental affairs, government relations, public affairs, lobbying, economic development, communications, and public relations.
Roughly 86% of Poulton's campaign contributions came from businesses or individuals with Manatee or Sarasota addresses.
Republican Candidate John Calovich
Also a resident of Lakewood Ranch, John Calovich says his background as a small business owner provides him with a strong foundation in budget management and fiscal responsibility. He owns two America's Swimming Pool Company franchises with his nephew, serving Manatee and Sarasota counties. Originally from the St. Louis area, he and his family relocated to Lakewood Ranch in 2021. He is a parishioner at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church and a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus.
The candidate’s campaign website describes Calovich as a Republican running on a "People First" platform centered on slowing growth, increasing government transparency, reducing taxes, and opposing what he characterizes as special-interest influence at the county commission. He has been endorsed by Commissioner Bob McCann and has aligned himself with McCann's vision of electing a commission majority (“team of four”), promising an anti-development leadership stance, including support for a moratorium on new development approvals.
Unlike Poulton, Calovich's campaign is heavily supported by candidate self-loans. Of Calovich’s roughly $39,000 in reported funds, just over $32,000 are self-lent contributions.
Aside from the candidate himself, nearly every other contributor is an individual, with no business donors appearing in the records. Most of the individual donors list their occupation as ‘retired.’
While many of his individual donors list a local address (Bradenton, Palmetto, Sarasota, etc.), several contributors are reportedly from out of state, including from Kansas and Missouri, consistent with Calovich's prior residence before moving to Florida.
Only one political committee (PAC) appears on Calovich’s financial reports. He received a $500 contribution from the GrayRobinson, P.A., Florida Political Action Committee.
Campaign finance reports filed with the Florida Division of Elections show the GrayRobinson PAC contributed $500 in April to four Manatee County commission candidates: Edward Bailey, Liz Arnold, Glen Gibellina, and Calovich. The PAC later reported additional $500 contributions in June to the campaigns of Amanda Ballard and Mike Rahn, meaning it contributed to both Republican candidates in the District 2 and District 4 primary races.
Looking further back in the PAC’s financial reporting reveals that in 2020 it gave $500 to the Kevin Van Ostenbridge campaign, and in 2019 and 2025 it contributed $1,000 each cycle to Senator Jim Boyd’s campaign.
According to a letter shared on Calovich’s campaign website, like candidates Bailey, Gibellina, and Arnold, Calovich has refunded the contribution to the GrayRobinson PAC, writing in part, “My campaign has established a strict policy of not accepting Political Action Committee (PAC) funds or contributions…”
Republican Candidate Ed Ference
Ed Ference is a lifelong Manatee County resident who has spent more than three decades working for Manatee County Utilities, beginning in the field and advancing through the department throughout the course of his career.
Ference says his years in county government provided him with practical experience solving problems, managing public infrastructure, and serving residents.
Ference's campaign is centered on managing growth and responsible development, protecting natural resources, fiscal accountability, and increasing government accountability. His platform emphasizes concerns about what he describes as unchecked overdevelopment, arguing that infrastructure must keep pace with growth to maintain residents’ quality of life, and that balancing growth means protecting natural resources and preserving the county’s historically agricultural areas.
Campaign finance reports show that nearly all of Ference’s $30,000 in reported contributions came from individual donors and locally owned businesses, not self-loans or political committees.
A high percentage of individual contributors to Ference’s campaign report their addresses as Bradenton, Parrish, Palmetto, Myakka, Lakewood Ranch, Anna Maria Island, or the Sarasota area. Less than 10% of his contributions come from donors outside of Manatee-Sarasota or Florida.
As with other candidates, Ference’s support appears to reflect his professional background, with contributors connected to agriculture, construction, utilities, and engineering. Unlike other candidates, his reports show few donors identifying themselves as attorneys or law firms.
He received maximum $1,000 contributions from two local businesses, Moore’s Dairy Farm and UMR Sports Inc., as well as maximum contributions from several locally-based business owners or individuals.
Additional smaller contributions came from other local businesses, such as Century Heating & AC (Oneco), Richards Plumbing (Bradenton), Ryan Concrete Pumping (Parrish), Automotive Armor MFG, Inc. (Palmetto), SOS Tractor Service (Parrish), and Osceola Ridge Land Services (Myakka).
Republican Candidate Tony Barrett
Tony Barrett is a U.S. Army veteran and a more than 30-year resident of Manatee County who previously served with Manatee County EMS and the Sarasota County Fire Department, according to the candidate’s campaign biography filed with the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections. He spent five years assigned as a tactical medic with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team.
Barrett has worked as a real estate broker for the past 21 years and has been actively involved in local and state real estate organizations. He served as the 2024 President of the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee and continues to participate in professional and community initiatives, including as founder of Heroes Welcome Home, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping veterans access housing and support services.
Court records show Barrett was arrested on June 18 on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. He has said he regrets the incident and believes he will ultimately be exonerated. The case remains pending.
Barrett was arrested again on June 30 on a charge of violating the conditions of his pretrial release related to the initial case, according to records.
As of the last financial reporting period, Barrett has reported approximately $12,000 in campaign contributions, including roughly $3,000 in self-funding.
His overall financing is primarily composed of individual donations, many in smaller amounts ranging from $25 to $500, with contributors largely based in Manatee and Sarasota counties. Donors include individuals working in real estate, construction, public safety, financial services, and related fields—aligning with Barrett's background as a first responder and a realtor.
A single political committee, the Firefighters & Paramedics for Public Safety PAC, contributed $1,000 to the campaign.
Overall, Barrett’s fundraising reflects a mix of small-dollar individual supporters, including local retirees, and significant support from real estate professionals and first responders.
Democratic Candidate Reggie Bellamy
Reggie Bellamy is a former Manatee County Commissioner and is the only Democratic candidate in the District 6 at-large race, which advances him directly to the November General Election.
Bellamy previously served on the Manatee County Commission from 2018 to 2022, after defeating then-commissioner Charles Smith in the 2018 Democratic primary and winning the general election that same year. He was later defeated in 2022 by current District 2 Commissioner Amanda Ballard.
According to his campaign website, Bellamy is a lifelong Manatee County resident, U.S. military veteran, and educator who has spent much of his career working in youth development and mentoring. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Palmetto Youth Center. His background includes coaching athletics and serving in educational leadership roles.
As he now runs to serve on the county commission in an at-large seat, Bellamy’s campaign platform emphasizes managed growth that “respects residents,” infrastructure planning, environmental protection, and fiscal accountability. His stated position is that development should be tied to infrastructure capacity, including roads, sewer, and stormwater systems, and he argues that long-term planning should guide county decision-making to preserve quality of life while supporting economic growth.
Bellamy has reported approximately $9,000 in campaign contributions, $5,000 of which he loaned to his campaign. The remainder of his contributions are from individual contributors, primarily local residents in Manatee and Sarasota counties, who gave smaller donations ranging from $25 to $200. Contributors include individuals from fields such as engineering, education, nonprofit work, and law, including local attorney Mark Barneby and former Manatee County Administrator Cheri Coryea.
His campaign has not reported contributions from political committees or business entities as of the most recent filing period.
To learn more about the qualified candidates in Manatee County races, including their reported campaign fundraising, visit the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website and select the ‘local candidates and committees’ page.
To view a calendar of 2026 Campaign Finance Reporting Dates, click here.
4 comments on this item
Only paid subscribers can comment
Please log in to comment by clicking here.
David Daniels
Where was Tara Poulton in 2023 when, not only the wetland buffers were removed, but impact fees were not raised, and so many other shenanigans? Tara said she "loved the local stuff" but I submit she only "loved the local stuff" when she needed a new job. Ms Poulton certainly knows the issues that whoever wins will have to deal with, yet in her interview with TBT, she spoke in catchy phrases that evaded taking a position. Her clear cutting response is a perfect example: She was asked directly if there should be limits to the amount of clear-cutting developers are allowed - that should have been a no-brainer. But she couldn't say yes. She spoke in circles about "bringing developers into the conversation" and that there are "3 sides to every story." I care deeply about the overdevelopment that is killing wildlife and ruining our quality of life. I don't think we need to "bring developers into the conversation." Developers have dominated the conversation for too long, and they certainly haven't brought citizens into the conversation. I listened objectively to Ference, Poulton and Colovich. I used their own words to make my decision. Ed Ference is a straight shooter.
Sunday, July 5 Report this
Debann
Yeppers she's a HELL NO..another developer friendly candidate...WE HAVE ENOUGH OF THEM..
Sunday, July 5 Report this
ruthlawler
Hands down, the most qualified and experienced for Manatee County District 6, At-Large County Commission, is Reggie Bellamy. His County Commission record speaks for itself, where he always put the residents and the environment first. As a lifelong Manatee County resident, and with a BS in Business Administration, we know what we get with Mr. Bellamy. He is not receiving contributions from PACS or businesses who would want to influence him. He has dedicated his career to service, youth, community and integrity. We NEED this kind of representation! Support Mr. Bellamy, we deserve a true public servant. Ruth Lawler
Sunday, July 5 Report this
teamj1009
Exactly Tara Poulton never showed any interested and now she is desperate for a job. Never trust that. Plus working for Buchanan and being deep into the inner circle for a do nothing politician absolutely not. She is already speaking like a groomed politician. The cronies are trying to creep back in. Learn about who you are going to vote for. I also generally never vote for the top money campagne as there is an expectation that comes with the $$$$$. Voter beware!
Sunday, July 5 Report this